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Monday, 7 February 2011

Donations Gratefully Received

People who know me, or at the very least the ones who would be asked should anything untoward happen to me, are aware that I carry a Donor Card. I am a firm believer in organ donation and would like to see the participation rates raised, so if you're not on the register and you don't carry a card, please consider it - you can find details here and some key facts and figures here.

People who know me are also aware that I am, quite possibly, one of the most squeamish people ever. Horror films and TV medical shows hold pretty similar levels of revulsion for me. They may be surprised, therefore, about something that I have considered before and in recent weeks have started thinking about again - donating not just my organs but my whole body.

Now I considered this a number of years ago but didn't take any action, primarily because I never got round to discussing it with my parents whom, I believe, would be most affected by this. On the off-chance that you, dear reader, know my parents, please don't mention it - I shall discuss it with them in due course.

Donated bodies can be used in a variety of ways that I'm not really sure I want to know the details off. What I do know, is that donated bodies can have a worthwhile impact whether it be in the training of doctors or surgeons, or furthering our understanding of the way the body works.

Unlike regular organ donation, donating your body will have a much greater impact on those you leave behind - after all there may be nothing to bury or create, or at least not for some time - and is therefore a much bigger decision than that of carrying an organ donation card. If you do want to look into it further, you can find information here and here. Despite my previous inertia, this is something I do intend to follow up - an additional post may well be written when I do.

This is a very timely post for me as I'm currently (and not before time) shopping around to try to find a satisfactory way to dispose of my remains in accordance with my wish for an eco-burial with minimal, non-religious ceremony. Like you, I've always been squeamish about physical internal body matters, never having given blood for that very reason - and feeling very guilty about it. (Whether my blood would be accepted anyway is another matter.) But thanks for putting this matter in my mind. I ought to build this into my 'farewell equation'.